Despite Europe’s failure at UN, Ankara expected to go it alone in sanctioning Assad regime over crackdown on protesters Turkey is pressing ahead with plans to impose its own sanctions on Syria, despite European powers backing down from using the UN to punish the regime for its crackdown on the protest movement. The Turkish measures are likely to be announced early next month, following a visit prime minister Recap Erdogan to camps in southern Turkey holding refugees who fled violence across the border and fear reprisals by security forces if they return. Four European heavyweights – France, Britain, Germany and Portugal – were forced to abandon a recent attempt to use the UN security council to impose sanctions on Syria, following opposition from Russia, China and South Africa. The four are now working on a watered-down resolution to threaten sanctions if the regime, led by President Bashar al-Assad, does not change its approach. In the absence of UN security council action, Turkey’s move could be decisive in a six-month standoff between Syrian security forces and anti-government activists which has seen more than 2,700 civilian deaths and sharply destablised the region. Erdogan is preparing for a range of economic, military and political sanctions which will further damage the once-close relationship between the two states. After playing a backseat role during the first months of uprising in Syria, Turkey has taken centre stage. Some observers believe Turkey is potentially the most influencial regional player to emerge in the crisis. “The reassessment on the Turkish side was because the formal policy of ‘zero problem with the neighbours’ was coming to an end as a result of the Arab Spring,” said Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar at international diplomacy organisation Carnegie Europe. “Turkey was somewhat late in making that evaluation, on Libya for example. “Turkish policy makers realised that [the policy] could no longer stand because it boiled down to ‘zero problem’ with the regimes. The government could no longer showcase Syria as a shining example of political success. From that point the policymakers took a decision to be on the right side of history and be much more supportive of the pro-democracy movements in these countries.” As the Syrian uprising gathered pace in March, Erdogan and his government were reluctant to criticise the actions of the regime’s security forces. Turkey’s foreign minister twice met with Assad and Erdogan spoke with the Syrian leader several times by phone. “He believed that he had Assad’s word,” said a source close to the Turkish leader. “Then it became clear that everything he said he was not honouring.””There was built up frustration in Ankara at the stubbornness of the regime in Damascus,” Ulgen said. “The Government believed that they had established such a strong relationship with Assad, that they would be able to nudge the government in a certain direction.” The dramatic deterioration in relations between Assad and Erdogan has led to speculation that Syria may use the Kurdish minority in the north of the country to agitate Ankara. The PKK, a Kurdish group regarded by Ankara as a terrorist organisation, has strong support among the Kurds of Syria. The Turkish military fears Syrian officials may try to spark conflict. “It has happened once before 10 years ago,” said a Turkish official. “We will watch closely to see what they do this time.” Ulgen added: “There is speculation that … the PKK card [will] be played against Turkey,” said Ulgen. There is also speculation that Turkey may establish a buffer zone inside its border, or inside Syria if fighting in northern areas continues. But Ulgen downplayed such talk. “It is politically very unlikely as things stand,” he said. “The only scenario for this to become possible is if there is a resurgence in the atrocities that lead to a big refugee movement again.” Turkey continues to host senior members of Syria’s nascent opposition movement and defectors from the military. It is understood to be working with the United States on moves to improve organisation of the oppsotion, but insists no military support is being provided.”The next month will be very important in all of this,” said the Turkish offiical. Ulgen agreed. “The deficit of trust is so big … things can never return.” Turkey Syria Bashar Al-Assad Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Europe Martin Chulov guardian.co.uk
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Despite Europe’s failure at UN, Ankara expected to go it alone in sanctioning Assad regime over crackdown on protesters Turkey is pressing ahead with plans to impose its own sanctions on Syria, despite European powers backing down from using the UN to punish the regime for its crackdown on the protest movement. The Turkish measures are likely to be announced early next month, following a visit prime minister Recap Erdogan to camps in southern Turkey holding refugees who fled violence across the border and fear reprisals by security forces if they return. Four European heavyweights – France, Britain, Germany and Portugal – were forced to abandon a recent attempt to use the UN security council to impose sanctions on Syria, following opposition from Russia, China and South Africa. The four are now working on a watered-down resolution to threaten sanctions if the regime, led by President Bashar al-Assad, does not change its approach. In the absence of UN security council action, Turkey’s move could be decisive in a six-month standoff between Syrian security forces and anti-government activists which has seen more than 2,700 civilian deaths and sharply destablised the region. Erdogan is preparing for a range of economic, military and political sanctions which will further damage the once-close relationship between the two states. After playing a backseat role during the first months of uprising in Syria, Turkey has taken centre stage. Some observers believe Turkey is potentially the most influencial regional player to emerge in the crisis. “The reassessment on the Turkish side was because the formal policy of ‘zero problem with the neighbours’ was coming to an end as a result of the Arab Spring,” said Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar at international diplomacy organisation Carnegie Europe. “Turkey was somewhat late in making that evaluation, on Libya for example. “Turkish policy makers realised that [the policy] could no longer stand because it boiled down to ‘zero problem’ with the regimes. The government could no longer showcase Syria as a shining example of political success. From that point the policymakers took a decision to be on the right side of history and be much more supportive of the pro-democracy movements in these countries.” As the Syrian uprising gathered pace in March, Erdogan and his government were reluctant to criticise the actions of the regime’s security forces. Turkey’s foreign minister twice met with Assad and Erdogan spoke with the Syrian leader several times by phone. “He believed that he had Assad’s word,” said a source close to the Turkish leader. “Then it became clear that everything he said he was not honouring.””There was built up frustration in Ankara at the stubbornness of the regime in Damascus,” Ulgen said. “The Government believed that they had established such a strong relationship with Assad, that they would be able to nudge the government in a certain direction.” The dramatic deterioration in relations between Assad and Erdogan has led to speculation that Syria may use the Kurdish minority in the north of the country to agitate Ankara. The PKK, a Kurdish group regarded by Ankara as a terrorist organisation, has strong support among the Kurds of Syria. The Turkish military fears Syrian officials may try to spark conflict. “It has happened once before 10 years ago,” said a Turkish official. “We will watch closely to see what they do this time.” Ulgen added: “There is speculation that … the PKK card [will] be played against Turkey,” said Ulgen. There is also speculation that Turkey may establish a buffer zone inside its border, or inside Syria if fighting in northern areas continues. But Ulgen downplayed such talk. “It is politically very unlikely as things stand,” he said. “The only scenario for this to become possible is if there is a resurgence in the atrocities that lead to a big refugee movement again.” Turkey continues to host senior members of Syria’s nascent opposition movement and defectors from the military. It is understood to be working with the United States on moves to improve organisation of the oppsotion, but insists no military support is being provided.”The next month will be very important in all of this,” said the Turkish offiical. Ulgen agreed. “The deficit of trust is so big … things can never return.” Turkey Syria Bashar Al-Assad Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Europe Martin Chulov guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …20-year-old man accused of helping to fund and concealing terror attack preparations A seventh terror suspect is being charged over an alleged UK suicide bombing plot, prosecutors have said. Mujahid Hussain will appear at Westminster magistrates court on Friday accused of helping fund the plan and providing information of material assistance. Six men have already been remanded in custody after the counter-terror operation by police in Birmingham. Deborah Walsh, deputy head of the Crown Prosecution Service special crime and counter-terror division, said she authorised West Midlands police to make the twin charges. The 20-year-old suspect is accused of entering into a funding arrangement for the purposes of terrorism and failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism, she added. The first charge reads that, before 19 September, he “entered into or became concerned in an arrangement as a result of which money or other property was to be made available to another, knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that it would or might be used for the purposes of terrorism”. The second charge alleges that, between 29 July and 19 September, he had “information which he knew or believed might be of material assistance in securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of another person, in the United Kingdom, for an offence involving the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism and did not disclose the information as soon as reasonably practicable”. The other six defendants appeared at West London magistrates court on Monday. Some of them are accused of wanting to be suicide bombers, having trained for terror in Pakistan and having raised money for terrorism. The men, all from Birmingham and said to be part of a terror network, were remanded by deputy senior district judge Daphne Wickham. Ashik Ali, 26, of White Street, Irfan Nasser, 30, of Doris Road, Irfan Khalid, 26, of Timbers Way, and Rahim Ahmed, 25, of Moorcroft Road, will appear at the Old Bailey next month. They are accused of one count of engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts. Nasser, Khalid and Ali are said to have planned a bombing campaign, stated an intention to become suicide bombers, collected money for terrorism, made or helped make a homemade bomb and recruited people for terrorism. Nasser and Khalid are also accused of travelling to Pakistan for terror training including bomb-making, weapons and poison-making as well as making a martyrdom film. Ahmed is accused of helping others travel to Pakistan for terror training, collecting money for terrorism and investing and managing money for terrorist acts. Mohammed Rizwan, 32, of Asquith Road, has been charged with failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism. It is alleged that between 29 July and 19 September this year, he had information which he knew may help prevent the “commission of an act of terrorism but did not disclose the information”. He will next appear before Westminster magistrates on 24 October alongside Ali’s brother, Bahader Ali, 28, of Turner Road. Both are from the Sparkbrook area of the city. UK security and terrorism Birmingham Police guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Mother tells of murder arrest after hospital missed infection in son, 3
September 29, 2011 No CommentAlfie Podmore could have survived if antibiotics had been prescribed at Birmingham children’s hospital, inquest told A mother was held on suspicion of murder when her three-year-old son died three days after being released from hospital suffering from an infection that developed into pneumonia. Alfie Podmore, from Quinton, Birmingham, would probably have survived had he been given antibiotics, an inquest has heard. His 21-year-old mother, Abby Podmore, was arrested and held in a police station for 24 hours and was not able to see her son’s body for 10 days. The inquest heard Alfie had not been seen within the one-hour target time at Birmingham children’s hospital where he was taken on 3 February. A report from the hospital said Alfie had not been not showing many of the typical signs of pneumonia. But the hospital later said it could have done more to help him. The hearing at Birmingham coroner’s court heard how Alfie complained to doctors of a pain in his shoulder, and the hospital admitted it was unusual for a child of his age to be able to identify a specific area of the body where there was pain. No blood tests were carried out. The Birmingham coroner, Adrian Cotter, said: “Alfie definitely had an infection, it may have shown up on an x-ray or with a blood test but we don’t know if it would have done because those things were not done.” In a statement to the inquest, Abby Podmore, a dental nurse, said her “horrifying” arrest had robbed her of the chance to grieve for her son. Alfie had been taken ill while at nursery on 2 February. The following day, he was taken to hospital but was discharged after staff failed to diagnose a developing infection on his lung. He died at home on 6 February after developing septicaemia. Telling how she tried in vain to revive her son when she found him on the morning of 6 February, Podmore said: “I knew he was not breathing so I started to give him CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation].” An ambulance then arrived, the inquest heard, but police asked her to leave the house and change out of her clothes. Podmore said: “I found it distressing because I wanted to be with his body. I was in a state of shock and didn’t know what was going on.” Two riot vans and a total of 15 police officers then arrived and her partner was also detained. “I couldn’t believe what was happening – I felt like I was being treated like a criminal,” she added. Neighbours had looked on as Podmore and her partner were arrested, “I remained in a police station for 24 hours,” she said. “Looking back, I feel I have been robbed of the chance to say goodbye to Alfie.” In a statement released in July, West Midlands police said it had launched an internal investigation into the arrest. Dr Phillip Cox, a consultant paediatric pathologist, told the inquest that Alfie had about a pint of fluid on his chest and that if he had been given antibiotics he probably would have lived. A postmortem found he died from natural causes. The inquest continues. Birmingham NHS Police Health Children Helen Carter guardian.co.uk
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Neville Thurlbeck, the paper’s former chief reporter, has withdrawn from an employment tribunal hearing due to take place on Friday A News of the World reporter claiming he had blown the whistle on phone hacking at the Sunday tabloid has pulled out of an employment tribunal hearing in his unfair dismissal case . Neville Thurlbeck, the paper’s former chief reporter, was due to appear for a hearing related to his case at East London Tribunal Service in Stratford on Friday but has withdrawn. He was sacked by Rupert Murdoch’s News International earlier this month and was asking the tribunal to force the company to continue to pay him on the grounds that he was a whistleblower and should not have been fired. News International confirmed that he had now withdrawn this “application for interim relief”. It is not clear however whether he will continue with a case for unfair dismissal. His unfair dismissal case emerged earlier this week. Thurlbeck has been a central figure in the affair and was arrested and bailed in April on suspicion of conspiring to intercept voicemail messages. Earlier this week he was re-bailed until March pending further questioning. The Guardian revealed two years ago the existence of a “for Neville” email – believed to be a reference to Thurlbeck – sent to private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, which contained a transcript of messages left on a mobile phone belonging to Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Gordon Taylor. The “for Neville” email contradicted the defence that News International had maintained until late 2010, that phone-hacking was limited to Mulcaire and one “rogue reporter” on the News of the World, former royal editor Clive Goodman. Both were jailed in early 2007 for phone-hacking offences. •
Continue reading …Barclay brothers buy Claridge’s in £700m Irish property debt fire sale
September 29, 2011 No Comment
Trio of five-star London hotels sold to owners of Daily Telegraph by Nama after property crash hits Dublin syndicate Three of London’s top hotels, including Claridge’s, have been sold to the Barclay brothers, owners of the Daily Telegraph, by the Irish state agency trying to recover billions of euros of bad property debt. The Channel Isles-based brothers acquired Maybourne Group, which also owns the Connaught and Berkeley hotels, by buying £700m of loans originally taken out by a syndicate of Irish property developers. The deal reinforces David and Frederick Barclay’s position as the owners of some of Britain’s finest hotels. The brothers already own the Ritz in Piccadilly, central London. It is the largest property sale by the Irish National Asset Management Agency (Nama) since it was set up to deal with the debt amassed by developers during the property boom. The five-star hotels had been bought by a syndicate that included Derek Quinlan, a former tax inspector, and Paddy McKillen in 2005 in one of the most audacious deals by Irish entrepreneurs riding on a wave of cheap credit. The syndicate was then hit by Ireland’s property crash. The agency said on Thursday it has recovered every penny of debt from the Claridge’s deal. “The loans were sold for in excess of €800m with Nama recovering 100% of the original value of the loans plus interest,” it stated. The deal marks a succesful start to a fire sale by Nama of London property within its control, announced earlier this year, including the Citigroup tower in Canary Wharf, part of Leicester Square and the Louis Vuitton building in Bond Street. With Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, Nama is one of the top property lenders in the UK with a loan book of €30bn (£26bn). With the Irish property market still in the doldrums, Nama is concentrating on the UK to get a return for the Irish taxpayer by 2013. It is hoping to cash in on the commercial property bubble in London which is seen as a safe haven by investors fleeing exceptionally volatile stock, bond and currency markets. Last month it published a list of 850 distressed properties up for sale both in Ireland and the UK – including pubs across Britain, a string of hotels including the Crowne Plaza in Shoreditch, London and, at the bottom end, a car park in Bangor in north Wales and an off licence in Muswell Hill, London. Quinlan and McKillen funded the purchase of the three landmark London hotels through loans from Allied Irish Banks and Anglo Irish Bank, both since nationalised. Quinlan has had a spectacular fall in Ireland’s property crash and has been trying to offload the Citigroup tower which he bought with property investor Glenn Maud. The 42-storey tower at 25 Canada Square was bought from Royal Bank of Scotland in 2007 for £1.1bn and Nama had been close to concluding a sale. It was withdrawn from the market last week after hitting a snag related to a recent legal ruling affecting rental payments. Speaking in Dublin on Thursday, chief executive Brendan McDonagh said loan sales would form a major part of Nama’s strategy. He was open to selling loans relating to “individual assets, whole debtor connections or groups of loans by geography.” The agency is choosing advisers in Europe and the US to assist in property sales. Nama has acquired approximately €600m in loans linked to assets in the US and €30bn of loans linked to assets in the UK and Europe. Ireland Commercial property Real estate London Hotels Barclay Brothers Europe Lisa O’Carroll guardian.co.uk
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Obesity and poor health conditions, not including stress, costs 103m work days or £21.5bn a year, says new 25-year study Eight in 10 British workers are overweight or living with long-term illnesses that limit their productivity, according to early findings of a 25-year study of people’s wellbeing. Poor health and obesity is costing the economy at least £21.5bn a year and will prove a severe drag on any recovery from the recession, the study suggests. Workers who are both overweight and have three or more health conditions – more than one in 10 of the total – are taking more than three weeks’ sick leave every year. The findings come ahead of publication due in October of an independent review of sickness absence, commissioned by the government. That review is expected to warn that growing numbers of workers are living with long-term conditions and need greater support to do so. According to the wellbeing study, based on an initial telephone interviews with almost 4,000 full-time workers, only 20% are not overweight and have no health conditions, ranging from high blood pressure to cancer. Another 20% have a weight problem but no health conditions. But six in 10 have at least one condition and 16%, almost one in six, have three or more. The study, by pollsters Gallup, is a 25-year collaboration with Healthways, an international wellbeing consultancy, in the UK, Germany and the US. Surveys in Britain began earlier this year and have so far involved almost 9,000 people in and out of employment. Dan Witters, Gallup principal and research director of the study, said: “Only one five British full-time workers are in optimal health. Because of this, they miss an estimated 103m days at work a year.” Ben Leedle, Healthways president and chief executive, said: “The implication of the chronic disease burden of the UK’s workforce is at alarming levels.” Gallup says the findings are a conservative estimate of productivity loss because they do not include part-time workers and take no account of “presenteeism” – people turning up to work when they are ill. Conditions counted in the survey include recurring back or knee pain as well as diagnosed depression. However, they do not include stress or anxiety, which are among the fastest growing causes of sickness absence. The international study has found that while obesity and most health conditions are more common in the US, Britain has the highest rate of asthma and a rate of depression 50% higher than in Germany. Health Obesity High blood pressure Work & careers Recession Cancer David Brindle guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Facebook flooded with campaigners’ requests for hard copies of information
September 29, 2011 No Comment
Reddit user group called How to annoy Facebook sets out to do just that after data sharing gives rise to fresh privacy concerns A community website appeared to have got the better of Facebook on Thursday after a guerilla campaign overloaded the social network with requests to send out hard copies of personal data it holds on its users. The campaign, blatantly called How to annoy Facebook , was started by a user on the social news site Reddit and quickly became the number three story in its “what’s hot” section. Under some data protection laws in Europe, Facebook has to send a hard copy – likely to be a CD – of your personal data. In the case of the UK and Ireland, it must send out a CD within 40 days. However, the group’s mischief may be somewhat stymied by the fact that Facebook does not have to supply the information in the format requested. The UK information commissioner’s office told the Guardian that Facebook could lawfully send out the data by email, or whichever format was the most convenient. The social network could even direct users to its “export your data” webpage if that satisfied the request. Facebook evidently has been flooded with requests — according to technology blog ZDNet , the company’s data access request team have been forced to send out emails telling users there will be a significant delay in getting their personal data out to them. The amount of data would include a user’s photo gallery, social calendar, wall posts and all other personal data such as date of birth. ZDNet reported that a typical personal data file will be a PDF that runs to more than 1,000 pages and more than 100MB in size. The watchdog website Europe vs Facebook received a 780-page personal information file – 34MB in size, roughly the same as eight MP3 music tracks – when it requested data from Facebook. Facebook had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication. The online campaign follows fresh privacy concerns about what data is held by Facebook after it launched features last week that automatically share what users are watching, reading and listening to on certain sites. Spotify attracted criticism for the changes, which meant that every song a user listened to was automatically shared on Facebook, unless the user explicitly opted out. The Anglo-Swedish streaming service on Thursday introduced a “private listening” feature in response to users who complained that they didn’t want Facebook friends being notified of every song they listened to. Daniel Ek, co-founder and chief executive of Spotify, announced the changes on Twitter . “We’re rolling out a new client as we speak where you can temporarily hide your guilty pleasures. It works like a browser’s private mode,” he tweeted . “We call it ‘private listening’ and you can find it in the Spotify/File menu and toggle it on/off.” Facebook Spotify Internet Social networking Digital media Lisa O’Carroll Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
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David Simmonds battered Chinese-born economics graduate to death in woodlands near her workplace A 21-year-old man has admitted murdering an economics graduate who was battered to death in woodlands near her workplace. David Simmonds, of Heanor, Derbyshire, pleaded guilty at Nottingham crown court to the murder of 25-year-old Jia Ashton. The body of Chinese-born Ashton was discovered in Sleetmoor Woods, near Somercotes in Derbyshire, on 13 March, three days after she was last seen leaving her job at the chocolate-maker Thorntons. Detectives launched a high-priority inquiry after Ashton’s music teacher husband, Matthew, reported her missing on the evening of 11 March. She was eventually found by a mountain search and rescue dog in Sleetmoor Woods. Detectives think she would have been walking her usual route home down a road known locally as the Yellow Brick Road when she was attacked. Speaking at a media briefing earlier this week, Detective Superintendent Terry Branson said she was subjected to a sustained and brutal attack, in which there was no evidence of any weapons being used. Simmonds, at 1.88 metres (6ft 2in) and 120kg (19 stone), was more than three times the weight of Ashton, who stood at 1.5 metres, weighed 41kg and wore a size two shoe. Branson said: “Whilst I believe this may well have been a chance meeting in the woods on 10 March, thereafter what took place was not chance, not coincidental. “It was a sustained violent and brutal attack on a young woman, a result of which was that she did receive horrendous injuries to her head and significant compression to her chest, resulting in trauma to her heart, which was the cause of her death.” All her injuries were consistent with having been kicked and punched, he added, and there was no evidence of a sexual attack. She was found some distance from the site where detectives believe she was attacked but it is not clear if she ran there or was dragged. Branson said Ashton was last seen leaving Thorntons just after 5pm on 10 March before walking through the woods with her hood up and listening to an MP3 player. Her body was found about 500 metres from some of her belongings, which included her glasses, her music player and earphones, her mobile phone, which had been snapped in two, five buttons from her coat, and an umbrella cover. Her handbag was found around 4.5 metres up a tree close to her body. Detectives believe Simmonds scattered her belongings around the woods to conceal the crime. He also covered her body with various tree branches and logs. Fingerprints and DNA evidence were recovered from her glasses and her phone but Simmonds was not on any national databases so was not matched. He was eventually arrested on 5 May, eight weeks into the investigation, and charged with Ashton’s murder on 6 May after officers searched the local register of homeless people following accounts from witnesses a dishevelled and unkempt man in the woods around the time of the murder. Simmonds, who has a tattoo behind his right ear at the top of his neck, appeared in court wearing a brown long-sleeved shirt and dark jogging bottoms. Ashton’s husband, who was in court with his mother, Sue, stared at Simmonds as he was brought into the dock. Simmonds spoke only to confirm his name and was remanded in custody to appear at Nottingham crown court on 7 October for sentencing. Crime guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Rio Ferdinand loses ‘kiss and tell’ privacy case against Sunday Mirror
September 29, 2011 No Comment
Footballer’s claim is dismissed as judge’s ruling favours defendant’s right to freedom of expression Footballer Rio Ferdinand on Thursday lost his privacy action over a “kiss and tell” story published by the Sunday Mirror. The England and Manchester United star was not at the high court in London to hear Mr Justice Nicol dismiss his claim against Sunday Mirror publisher Mirror Group Newspapers. Ferdinand will pay MGN’s legal costs. Ferdinand brought his case for misuse of private information over an April 2010 Sunday Mirror article in which interior designer Carly Storey gave her account of their 13-year relationship in return for £16,000. The judge said: “Overall, in my judgment, the balancing exercise favours the defendant’s right of freedom of expression over the claimant’s right of privacy.” After the judge’s ruling, Sunday Mirror editor Tina Weaver said in a statement: “The Sunday Mirror is very pleased that the court has rejected Rio Ferdinand’s privacy claim. “The judge found that there was a justified public interest in reporting the off-pitch behaviour of the then England captain and discussion of his suitability for such an important and ambassadorial role representing the country. “We are pleased the judge ruled that Mr Ferdinand had perpetuated a misleading public image and the Sunday Mirror was entitled to correct this impression. “There has never been greater scrutiny of the media than now, and we applaud this ruling in recognising the important role a free press has to play in a democratic society.” Ferdinand, who has three children with wife Rebecca, had told the judge at an earlier high court hearing that he was “extremely upset to read the story, particularly because it came out of the blue”. “It has been stressful and embarrassing for me to have to explain it to fellow professionals as well as family members and friends, and it has inevitably put a strain on my relationship with my wife,” he said. “People also started shouting things out at me in the street after the article was published – things like, ‘Where’s your new bird?’” Ferdinand added that he had not met the woman named in the Sunday Mirror story for six years by the time it was published. “Although I am a well-known person I make a clear distinction between my public and private life and do not seek publicity for my personal life,” he said. “I do not see why I should not be entitled to a private life just because I am a famous footballer.” •
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